Yuuka's Love
by WriterRoxas
Summary: Yuuka is a feared youkai that everyone gives a wide berth. And yet, despite her cold and cruel treatment, Wriggle simply can't stay away... And not just because fear keeps her bound.
1. Chapter 1  Insanity

**New Touhou related fanfic up already. Yay?**

**Anyways, this fic is essentially my take on that YuukaXWriggle pairing. I don't really know anything it, apart from Yuuka beating the hell out of Wriggle for whatever reason. My take on Yuuka in this fic is a bit different from Tsukuribanashi. Instead of coming off as... well, quirky and oblivious to the fourth wall, she's a bit more a bitch in this. While I don't intend to make her out to be some remorseless monster, I'll probably paint her in a bad light even by the conclusion of this little story.**

**Also, I wonder who can identify where I borrowed the lyrics of that song verse from?**

* * *

><p>In Gensokyo, it wasn't hard to find unusual people. Hell, they were so commonplace that a 'normal' person could be considered the oddity. From magic throwing mages to element-controlling deities, Gensokyo was home to a wide array of creatures only known through fairy tales and legends in the 'outside world'.<p>

Within Gensokyo was a rather feared woman, possibly old enough to have seen Gensokyo's creation. Living within a mansion guarded by a scythe-wielding servant, this woman was feared by virtually everyone.

"Yuuka Kazami?" One would repeat in a hushed whisper, looking frightened at the mere mention of her name. "I... I swear I have no ill-will toward her! So, flowers are awesome, right?"

Yeah, she was feared, all right. Not because she was some blood-thirsty tyrant, but because of rumours of her... private habits. The few people who had returned sane from her mansion spoke of 'games' and 'fun', while looking like they's just faced the hordes of hell itself armed with nothing more than a crumbling stick.

General consensus was that Yuuka was a deranged, diabolical youkai. They would have attempted to have her purged, but a few notorious residents of Gensokyo, namely the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and her possible girlfriend Marisa Mirisame had faced the youkai. While surviving the ordeal no worse for wear spoke volumes of their ability, the fact that Yuuka was no different from before that encounter must have meant that she was too much, even for them.

Besides, since Yuuka didn't seem to be terrorising anyone (at least, not some random people plucked from the street) and was pretty much keeping to herself, maybe everyone could just pretend that she didn't even exist?

* * *

><p>"Afternoon tea tastes great in the afternoon." Yuuka commented pleasantly to her servant, Elly, as she sipped said tea. Elly nodded her head enthusiastically, looking somewhat worried, but had an air of acceptance around her.<p>

"Of course, I'd rather have someone to drink the tea with, but I can't since you've been naughty..." Yuuka sighed, gazing at her servant the way a mother would look at their misbehaving child. "Now, I have to spend the next week worth of afternoon's alone."

Elly looked ashamed at the words spoken to her, which was quite understandable. An hour earlier, Elly had grown bored of standing guard over the mansion. Why bother if no one really came by, anyway? The only two who did had beat her up anyway.

Deciding a better way to pass time would be to train in preparation for a repeat of such an occurrence, Elly had begun trying to devise new Bullet patterns to mingle with her scythe throwing and floor-tile launching. This brilliant idea ended up damaging one of Yuuka's flowerbeds, grievously injuring the harmless plants.

Now, Elly hung from her ankles, suspended on the ceiling over her mansion's patio, completely naked with her arms bound behind her back, and a red ball gag strapped over her mouth. Yuuka had a... twisted way of punishing people.

On the broad patio was a round, white table with two chairs, Yuuka occupying one.

Yuuka herself was dressed as she normally was, with a red plaited skirt, a white shirt with a vest top that matched her skirt, tall, black boots, shoulder length green hair, and a pink umbrella, which was perched on the table.

"Then again, with you up there, perhaps I'm not alone..." Yuuka muttered to herself. "Hm... Say, Elly, should I relocate you, or should I try drinking elsewhere?

Despite her humiliating situation, Elly wouldn't dare oppose or inconvenience her master in any way. Partly out of fear, but mostly admiration and respect. After all, Despite Yuuka's punishments, she at least cared and provided for Elly.

Still, with the gag, it was a tad hard to choose an option. Yuuka smiled slightly and sipped some more tea while Elly tried to form a comprehensible word.

"Tell you what, how about a nod for 'you move', and a shake for 'I move'."

Elly immediately nodded her head, and Yuuka giggled like a child. "Oh, daring, aren't we?" Which cast a look of confusion from Elly. Had she misinterpreted who was being referred to as 'you' and 'I'? She didn't mean to choose her master, and tried to correct herself, but her words were, once again, unintelligible.

"No going back now~" Yuuka said cheerfully, rising from her seat, and Elly looked worried once again. Would she be punished harder for choosing the wrong option? Oh god, this was bad...

However, Yuuka only reached up and simply tugged at the rope holding Elly to the ceiling, even though she couldn't possibly be tall enough to reach so high.

Throwing the still-bound Elly over her shoulder, Yuuka began marching away from the mansion, and through her garden of sunflowers. As a youkai who had control over plant life, she was, naturally, able to hear them 'speak' with her.

_What's going here, Miss Yuuka? Eloping?_

_Elly been a baaaaaaad girl? Ha ha..._

_She killed my cousin! I know you brought him back to life, Miss, but she killed him!_

Yuuka only laughed and chatted happily away with the flowers as she passed. Apparently, only flowers could get away with being on 'best buddy terms' with her.

Elly wished she could ask where Yuuka was taking her, but even if she wasn't gagged, Elly didn't think it would be a good idea. Besides, Yuuka would love to keep it a surprise.

Once they were clear of the garden, the two of them had somehow ended up within a village. An odd thing about Yuuka was that, sometimes, she could just appear anywhere, instantly, with no real transition. Ironic, considering that Yuuka was also notoriously slow at moving most times, as if completely incapable of running.

Elly realised just what Yuuka was planning now, and her body burned brighter with embarrassment. Yuuka had relocated her, all right. Now she was on public display. Normally, Elly wouldn't mind too much being naked in front of others. Sure, it was awkward, but at least Elly wasn't constricted. Now, she was helpless as Yuuka hung her servant by the branch of a tree within the centre of the village.

Villagers stared in shock and horror (and no guesses what some males felt at seeing a bound female...) as Yuuka re-tied Elly to a branch that she really shouldn't have been able to reach. When she was finished, Yuuka looked at the crowd of humans gathered around.

With a bright smile, Yuuka greeted them all. "Hey, all! Been a while, huh? Anyway, just so you all know, Elly's been a bad girl, so she'll be staying here for a week. Feel free to look, but just know that, the exact millisecond any of you touch or harm my precious Elly in any way, or even-"

Yuuka studied the ground, stepping forward and nudging a patch of dirt with her boot. "- Come within eight feet of her, I'll be there to have a few words with you." Yuuka finished with a pleasant, friendly tone. The villagers immediately hurried away to finish whatever business they had previously, apparently to afraid to even glance in their general direction.

"You there!" Yuuka called to a young girl, who immediately stopped, quaking in terror as she slowly faced the crazy youkai.

"Come here, sweetie." Yuuka smiled brightly at the girl, which done nothing to soothe the girl's nerves as she hesitantly walked over to the smiling flower youkai.

When the girl was within five feet of them, Yuuka said, "Care to do me a big favour?"

The girl, already scared, only quaked harder, unsure if she should refuse.

"Oh, it's nothing too big." Yuuka reassured the young girl. "See, I just need to make sure Elly here has access to a bathroom four times a day. Is that okay?"

The girl glanced at the embarrassed, but still amazingly calm, Elly, and back at the smiling, yet still freaking terrifying Yuuka. "B-bathroom?"

"Yeah, the place where everyone goes to do their business." Yuuka explained as if it were a foreign concept to the human. "Since my precious servant's hanging up there, and outside too, it's be disastrous if she had no help."

While the girl was sure she was going to infuriate and/or terrify her parents, the girl nodded. As scary as Yuuka was, she felt sorry that girl hanging on the tree, after all.

"Thanks, sweetie!" Yuuka gushed. "Oh, and you may remove the gag for an hour a day, okay? No more than that, or I'll be cross."

The girl looked paralysed with fear, to which Yuuka only smiled at, before turning to Elly, cupping her face as best she could while her servant was upside down.

"Now, you be good, okay? See you in a week."

Elly nodded and spoke a muffled, 'Bye, my Lady," as Yuuka turned to leave. When Yuuka had disappeared, the girl finally faced the naked servant, looking horribly unsure of what to do. How was she supposed to get her down, anyway? And did she need to hang the girl again?

"So... do you need to go now?" The girl asked nervously.

* * *

><p>Back home, Yuuka finished the rest of her still warm tea, completely at ease with her casual humiliation of her dedicated servant. While it may seem a cruel and horrendous act to do to someone who loved you, Yuuka's views on love were entirely different and alien. Where others saw atrocious abuse of another, Yuuka saw affectionate caring. After all, it wasn't like she intended for a human to touch her precious Elly.<p>

Placing her cup back on the saucer, Yuuka smiled slightly to herself, listening to the whispering of the flowers. Right now, they spoke of another presence. One that Yuuka had been aware of for a while now, but saw no need to take action. She still had to finish that cup of tea.

Now that said tea had been finished, Yuuka might as well greet her visitor. The presence was within her mansion, no doubt taking advantage of her momentary absence. How brave... or utterly stupid. Not that it mattered to Yuuka. She would have to discipline this visitor, seeing as the intruder so rudely entered her home without permission!

Inside Yuuka's mansion was what looked like, at first, a very basic structure. Doors and stairs that seemed to indicate clearly where things were. 'Door left leads to the kitchen! Stairway right leads to the Disciplinary Wing'.

This clearly wasn't the case for whoever entered her house. The flower youkai could sense the intruder stumbling about at random, perhaps panicking. Oh, she was right to panic, all right.

Yuuka casually ascended of the staircase's leading to her upper floors. The presence was somewhere near the left-most side of her house. She was already trapped.

_"Staining my soul and stinging my eyes_

_the red on my hands_

_won't wash away, wash away_

_no where to run from what I have done_

_I'm no longer, no longer_

_a Rose of May..."_

Yuuka began softly singing a verse of a song she'd heard a long time ago. There was no deep meaning behind it, although Yuuka had noted that anyone who heard this song tended to cry in fear. Odd.

Yuuka stopped in front of a door, knowing that the presence was on the other side. Her singing had carried off, revealing her presence. Yuuka's smile widened ever so slightly as she slowly opened the door.

On the other side was Yuuka's bedroom. Well, the one that Yuuka would use if she couldn't be arsed walking to her actual bedroom on the other side of the mansion.

Inside was a rather spacious area, with a simple, single bed on the far wall, a closet to the right, and various pieces of furniture lining the walls, and plenty of flowers to liven the place up. The flowers were all whispering of the intruder.

_Crazy bug guy! He's sneaking around Yuuka's home!_

_I thought it was a girl..._

_Seriously? How can you tell?_

_Either way, hiding there is the most hilariously bad place someone could hide!_

_If you can call it hiding..._

"Hm... Odd, I could of sworn that someone was in here." Yuuka said thoughtfully, crossing her arms. "I wonder where that visitor could of gone off to..."

Behind Yuuka was a terrified, green haired youkai with antennae poking from her head, and wearing a white, button down shirt with baggy black shorts, this youkai's features would make you think it was a male at first glance. Voicing such a thought was liable to have the little bug beat you senseless and assert herself as female.

Not that the youkai would dare do such a thing to Yuuka. She was still trying to understand why she even broke in in the first place! For some reason, she was compelled to come here every so often... and took her chance to look around the second Yuuka left.

Now, the fearsome flower-lover was standing right in front of her! She hadn't looked back to see a little bug-girl desperately trying to go unnoticed as she crouched behind the now wide-open door. Yuuka stepped forward, apparently conversing with the flowers, and Wriggle couldn't believe her luck. If luck decided to stick around, maybe she could sneak out and run like hell...

Wriggle slowly inched her way around the door, trying not to budge it in case Yuuka heard something. Her heart was beating so fast and loud it should of gave away her location! But she was safe! One more step and may be Wriggle could risk-"

"So, would you happen to know where the intruder is?" Yuuka asked pleasantly, now facing Wriggle, who was currently freaking out. "I heard that he has green hair, and is some sort of bug. Seen a guy like that 'round here?"

"I'm a girl, you stup-" Wriggle automatically snarled, but clamped her mouth shut, eyes wide with terror. Did she honestly just try and insult Yuuka?

Yuuka didn't seem too bothered however, although her smile seemed a bit sinister to the terrified insect.

"Ah, a girl? Very well, have you seen a girl like that 'round here?" Yuuka rectified, and stepped forward, causing Wriggle to stumble half a pace back. "In fact, I think she looks a little like you. I wonder why?"

Not liking where this was going, Wriggle let out a squeak of pure terror and bolted down the corridor, intent on leaving this mansion, busting a hole through that barrier surrounding Gensokyo, and hiding out in the Outside World... assuming that was enough to put a distance between her and the evil flower youkai demon of hell.

Yuuka only giggled as her prey fled. Casually, with no rush in her step, Yuuka left the room, following the fleeing bug.

After a few moments of random direction-taking, Wriggle decided that flying would most likely be much faster, and took to the air, hovering over the ground as she zipped through the corridors, trying to make sense of this labyrinthine home.

It was a nightmare, getting anywhere! Wriggle would of been convinced she was running in circles, but she hadn't ran into Yuuka again, so maybe she was making progress after all. Pushing thoughts of self-deprecation over her own insanity for coming here away, Wriggle turned right, finding a staircase leading down.

Seeing it as a ticket to salvation, Wriggle sped to the lower floor, wondering if the stairs were this long when she made her way upwards. When she finally reached the bottom, it was obvious that she wasn't in the foyer, but some underground area.

_Shit! This isn't good, I'm trapped down here!_ Wriggle realised with mounting panic and fear, but tried to calm herself down. After all, maybe Yuuka didn't know where she was? She could hide down here for a while, maybe look for an exit, and if that didn't work, just try and sneak out later...

"I see you found yourself here already." Yuuka said cheerfully, scaring the terrified bug once again. Slowly glancing back, she saw Yuuka sitting on the stone steps, the umbrella that was previously left outside now by her side.

"Since you came down here, I'll assume you want to play with some of my toys?" Yuuka asked, a glint of excitement in her eyes.

_Must not faint... must not faint... must not faint..._ Wriggle mentally willed herself, although her knees were just about ready to die on her. Good thing she was still flying...

Slowly backing away down the cold, foreboding corridor, Wriggle fearfully faced Yuuka, too afraid to turn her back.

"Come with me, little one, I'll show you were the toys are." Yuuka said pleasantly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Wriggle turned her head, saw Yuuka was behind her, and looked straight ahead again to see Yuuka was gone. She moved so fast...?

"I-I... I-I-I-I..." Wriggle couldn't even speak past the first syllable, and Yuuka only smiled reassuringly, turning the bug, pushing her gently to the ground and kneeling so they were face to face.

"What's the matter, child? Are you cold?"

Wriggle immediately shook her head, too afraid to break eye contact or pull away.

"Can you speak normally?"

Wriggle nodded, still too afraid to speak properly.

"Do you have a name?" Yuuka asked, and Wriggle gulped.

"W-W-Wriggle... N-N-N-Nightbu-bug."

"'W-W-Wriggle... N-N-N-Nightbu-bug'? Unusual name." Yuuka repeated teasingly. "How about I call you 'Wriggle' for short?"

Wriggle could only gave the smallest of nods in response as Yuuka got to her feet and began to guide the young bug youkai further into the dungeons.

_I'm going to die! I'm going to get killed down here and no one's gonna know! Someone help!_ Wriggle's mind was screaming, but she herself remained deathly quiet.

"No need to be so shy!" Yuuka said cheerfully, as if she weren't leading Wriggle to certain doom. "Come on, let's talk! Surely there's something to gossip about!"

Wriggle didn't know what to say, but nor did she dare remain silent much longer, if Yuuka was telling her to speak. But what the hell could she say?

"Um -uh - I... I swear I wasn't gonna do anything!" Wriggle wailed. "I was only looking around, honest! I didn't see anything weird!"

Yuuka simply giggled at Wriggle's panicked confessions. "My, such a funny little child you are, Wriggy."

Stopping in front of a large, double door with an iron ring serving as the door handle, Yuuka said to Wriggle, "Now, Wrigs, I'm not mad about you having a look around my house."

"Y-you're not?" Wriggle asked, a tiny flicker of hope daring to raise its head.

"No, I'm not." Yuuka reassured her, although her grip on the youkai's shoulder tightened ominously. "However, you should realise that it's rude to break into someone's home to look around for any reason. So, since no one seems to have gotten around to it, I'll have to discipline you myself."

Wriggle stared into Yuuka's bright, yet dangerously dark eyes, her hope dying in a pit of fire.

"...Help!" Wriggle screamed, trying to break free of her iron grip, but clearly lacking the monstrous strength of the crazy youkai.

"Now now, Wriggy-Wriggy, it's not that harsh a punishment." Yuuka sighed, although she was clearly amused by this insect-youkai. Opening the door, Yuuka pulled a frightened in along with her.

When Wriggle stopped thrashing about, desperately trying to escape, she noticed that there didn't seem to be any lethal weapons or torture devices in this room. Hell, it wasn't even a room at all! They appeared to be in the back garden or something. Various, bright sunflowers bloomed here as well, even though Wriggle was sure that they should be below ground level.

Ushered through the door, Yuuka paused, a small frown on her face. "Oh dear. Wriggle, excuse me a moment, would you dear?"

Before Wriggle could muster the courage to ask, Yuuka turned and left through the door, closing it behind her. Barely ten seconds later, before Wriggle could decide on trying to run away or not, Yuuka returned, a somewhat annoyed look on her face.

"Sorry about that." Yuuka apologised pleasantly. "Some idiot tried to get a little close too close to my darling Elly. Honestly, why must humans think with their hormones instead of their heads?"

Wriggle wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, but didn't say anything. The young youkai could only assume she was referring to the absent gate keeper.

"Anyway, back to punishment." Yuuka said cheerfully, chilling Wriggle to her core. She tried to back away as Yuuka turned to take something hanging from the back of that door, which certainly wasn't there a second ago...

_Is that a collar?_ Wriggle wondered when she glanced at the object. It was a leather, looped object with small silver studs embedded around it. Yuuka smirked as she slowly advanced upon Wriggle.

"Bad girl's need to learn discipline, Wriggo," Yuuka whispered eerily. "Otherwise, they keep doing bad things, you know?"

Not wanting to know where this was leading, Wriggle tried to talk her way out. "I-I swear I've learned my lesson! I'll never come here again! Please, d-d-don't... hurt... me?"

Yuuka leaned close to Wriggle, there faces barely a centimetre apart. Fearful eyes met unreadable eyes as they simply stared at each other for several moments.

Finally, Yuuka pulled back and chuckled. "Oh Wrigglelina, whoever said I didn't want you to come back?"

Throwing the collar away, Yuuka tightly gripped Wriggle's shoulder once again as she guided the confused bug through the field of flowers.

Wriggle was trying to comprehend what Yuuka just said. Yuuka... wanted her to come back? Why? Hadn't she just been scaring the utter crap out of her with threats of 'discipline'? The kind that turned a guy insane with fear and remorse? Was this some sort of weird mind game?

"You seem nervous, Night-Wrig." Yuuka commented casually as they stepped into the middle of the flower field. Wriggle gulped, but said nothing.

"Come now, if something's bothering you, I'd like to hear it!" Yuuka encouraged.

Wriggle wasn't sure if she could say it. After all, what if she set the woman off? For all Wriggle knew, Yuuka was willing to let Wriggle go with a light warning, and she could blow it by speaking...

"Do you have something to say?" Yuuka asked, and her tone notably carried a demanding note to it, and Wriggle was even more apprehensive about speaking her mind. Still, if she didn't reply, it could go either way.

"W-why... aren't you, er... um... p-p-p-punishing me?" Wriggle stuttered, staring at the ground. Yuuka smiled deviously at the young youkai.

"Hm? Wriggity, whoever said I wasn't punishing you?" Yuuka asked.

Wriggle's gaze snapped to Yuuka in a horrified realisation, and was immediately knocked flying into the air.

Falling to the ground with the wind knocked out of her, Wriggle was barely aware that the flower's seemed to part of their own accord, forming a small area in which she could land without disturbing the flowers.

With a dull thud, Wriggle hit the ground with a cry of pain. Being a youkai, she could easily survive a fall like that, but that didn't mean it was a painless experience.

Eyes dotted with tears, Wriggle fearfully watched as Yuuka loomed overhead, grinning sadistically as she kicked Wriggle onto her back and planted her foot onto her pained stomach.

"Don't get me wrong, Bugs, I kinda like you. I mean, you're cute for a tomboy, and your frightened demeanour is just so..." Yuuka let out a strange squeal of... excitement? "But, you were bad, and if Elly can't get away with it, neither can you."

Removing her foot, Yuuka picked Wriggle up by her ankle, raising her higher than her arm really should have allowed to look at Wriggle, face to upside down face. "Don't worry though, I'm letting you off lightly, since it's your first offence."

With a casual flick, Wriggle was thrown into the air, and at the peak of her ascent, was riddled with Yuuka's danmaku bullets, sending shooting pains throughout her body.

Yelling and crying in pain, the bullets didn't stop until Wriggle hit the ground again, breaking her right arm. Again, nothing to a youkai's healing, still painful as all hell to Wriggle.

As Wriggle lay sobbing and fighting to stay conscious, Yuuka knelt in front of the battered bug. "There you go. Wasn't so bad, huh?"

Yuuka reached out with her hand, wiping away a tear with her knuckle affectionately. "Cheer up, okay? I promise we'll have more fun tomorrow."

With that, Yuuka simply upped and left, leaving Wriggle to lay among the swaying flowers, who seemed to be waiting for Wriggle to leave. For who knew how long, Wriggle simply lay there and sobbed. The pain had receded a while ago, and her broken arm was quickly mending, but Wriggle wasn't crying about that any more.

She was crying out of fear of tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2  Embarrassment

"... So when the human tried to accuse me of tricking him into eating poisoned food, I just turned out the lights and beat him up!" Mystia finished recounting the previous night to Wriggle. Mystia, the night-sparrow youkai, was one of Wriggle's friends, possibly even her best friend. She wore a white shirt with a brown dress, a matching colour cap with tiny wings sitting atop, what looked like owl's ears, light pink hair and small wings protruding from her back.

Mystia was just telling Wriggle about some confrontation she had over a human who ate at her fried lamprey stand, accusing her of poisoning food because he thought he saw her spit in the grill or something. Wriggle wasn't really listening, she was too busy fretting over her encounter with Yuuka Kazami the night before.

"Wriggle? Hey, Wriggle!" Mystia waved a talon in front of the bug's eyes. "Wake up, or I'll sing my siren song!"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, what a creep." Wriggle snapped back to reality. "How dare that guy... uh..."

Mystia frowned at her spacey friend, arms crossed. "Get his ass kicked?"

"Yeah, that." Wriggle sighed.

"Okay, Wriggle, tell me what's wrong right now."

Wriggle shook her head, forcing a reassuring mile on her face. "Nothing's wrong! I'm just... I dunno, a bit tired. Didn't sleep much last night."

Which was true. Once Wriggle had worked up the nerve to slink away from that garden of flowers, Wriggle had flew home faster than she had ever flown, concealing herself deep within the forest, fearfully peeking from bushes or burrows for any sign of Yuuka.

Mystia had thought Wriggle looked a bit messed up, but attributed it to sleeping rough. A quick bath and she would be all better, but Wriggle looked preoccupied, and it was worrying Mystia.

"If someone's bothering you, you can tell me." Mystia told Wriggle, gazing at her. "I'll sort them out. Hell, I'll even have Cirno help out to."

"No! It's nothing!" Wriggle denied, fearing what would happen if Mystia, Cirno, or anyone else stood up to Yuuka on her behalf. Even if a few of her friends were fairies, she wasn't having them die on her!

Mystia simply sighed, but didn't question further. She had no idea what was troubling Wriggle, but the sparrow only hoped that Wriggle would ask for any assistance when needed.

"Anyway..." Wriggle tried to change the subject, all to eager to take her mind of Yuuka... and herself. "Wanna go to the youkai mountain? See if that kappa found something cool?"

Mystia agreed, and the two set off from one of their many hang-out spots. This one, a clearing only a few hundred feet from the forest's edge, and a couple hundred more from one of the human villages.

As they flew overhead, Mystia glanced down, smirking as she recognised a few humans that she had conned at some point in the past. Mystia's singing could induce blindness on most who heard it, and the lamprey stand she ran was said to cure that blindness. In actuality, she simply lessened the effects of her curse, and got some nice money out of it.

However, a strange sight caught her eye, and she had to stop and stare in shock as she saw what was hanging from a tree. "Wriggle! Look at that!"

Wriggle glanced at the village below, and saw...

"I...Is that a naked girl hanging from a tree?" Wriggle asked, averting her gaze. "What is she, a... um..."

"Nudist?" Mystia suggested.

"I was thinking of a bigger word, but yeah."

Mystia glared at the girl, notably keeping her gaze away from the girl's more private areas and concentrating on her face.

"...Huh. Looks a little familiar... Wait, it's coming to me..."

Using her sharper vision, Mystia concentrated on putting the girl's face to a name. It took several moments, and Wriggle was about to crack an oggling joke, until Mystia gasped, grabbed Wriggle's arm and began flying off towards the youkai mountain.

"Hey! Mysty, what's up?" Wriggle asked, concerned.

"That girl... Wutshername, I recognise her!" Mystia explained, stealing a nervous glance back at the hanging girl. "She's Yuuka's pet, or whatever her job is!"

"G-Gatekeeper?" Wriggle suggested, her blood turning cold at the mention of Yuuka. "As in, Elly the gatekeeper?"

"Whatever! I don't wanna get involved in whatever's going on!" Mystia continued pulling Wriggle along with her, intent on keeping her distance from the nude girl. Under normal circumstances, neither youkai might mind being around Elly. After all, she was odd, but definitely sane. Right now... well, chances were Yuuka was a bit cross with Elly, and neither really wanted to risk becoming involved.

_Although, I think I already am..._ Wriggle thought glumly.

Within ten minutes, the two had reached the youkai mountain. The kappa they were looking for, Nitori, dealt in outside world objects. While the items the blue-haired youkai found were mostly of no interest to them, there was the occasional gem.

Not on this particular day though. All Nitori had found since there last visit was a small, rectangular object with a tiny screen, and a whole load of tiny buttons packed with tinier markings. Completely useless. Well, there was also books, but why would they be interested in them?

So, with no new items to buy from the kappa, Wriggle and Mystia left her home, idling at the forest surrounding the mountain when Mystia remembered a previous obligation.

"Ack! I was supposed to be hunting that guy who called her names yesterday..." Mystia muttered. Wriggle knew nothing about this incident (although it was something that had happened before - Rumia once fed on humans, and wasn't exactly well liked for that). "Wanna help out beat him senseless, Wriggle?"

"I... doubt that's a good idea." Wriggle frowned. "But go ahead, I'll just bug Cirno or something."

"Suit yourself." Mystia shrugged. She flapped her wings once, then gripped Wriggle's shoulder. Unlike Yuuka, who had no talons, Mystia's grip was gentle and careful. "Hey, you're definitely sure everything's okay?"

"Huh? Of course! What's with all the worrying?" Wriggle asked, slapping a wide grin on her face. "Trust me, I have absolutely no problems, whatsoever!"

Mystia still looked a little doubtful, but she relented. No point getting worked up about it if Wriggle seemed okay, after all...

"Later then." Mystia ascended to the sky, heading for the Forest of Magic, where Rumia lived. Wriggle didn't like the idea of Rumia staying anywhere near that witch that had beaten her and her friends up at some point in the past, but it seemed that, as long as they weren't in the way, they were safe from that Master Spark and whatever else Marisa had stolen.

It didn't take long before thoughts shifted back to Yuuka, and Wriggle shuddered in horror as she glided eastward. The young youkai could recall that beating Yuuka administered all too well. The surprise, the pain... the exhilaration...

Why had she felt that, anyway? Surely, you only feel exhilarated if an exciting event is going on. Wriggle sure as hell wasn't excited about getting blasted by a psychopath.

Oh, and to make things worse, Wriggle hadn't wanted to leave, even after that! No, once she was done crying and healing, she lingered for a moment, gazing at the mansion, before coming to her senses and getting the hell out of there. Wriggle feared something was wrong with her, to want to stick around after all that...

Wriggle noticed with some surprise that she had ended up back at that village. Lowering herself to the ground, Wriggle wondered why exactly she came back here.

Seeing the gatekeeper still hanging from the tree, Wriggle thought, _Oh, of course. No doubt she has something to do with it..._

Then again, Wriggle was curious about the girl's circumstances, and why she stayed with Yuuka in the first place if this kind of thing happened. Maybe Elly wasn't as sane as Wriggle thought? Who knew?

Nervously, Wriggle approached the hanging girl, who was still gagged, with her arms tied behind her back. It was a warm day, and Elly was sweating slightly, but otherwise perfectly fine... assuming she wasn't driven insane by her situation.

Elly, who was gazing intently at a patch of dirt, noticed Wriggle's presence and glanced, eyebrow raised. Since that creepy guy got his hand melted by her vigilant master Yuuka, nobody had dared approach Elly except for the human girl tasked with bathroom/gag duty, who tried to keep their interactions short.

Seeing Elly up close, Wriggle gulped and felt rather awkward, as if this were something she really shouldn't be looking at. Scratch that, she _really_shouldn't, but the scene was oddly captivating for Wriggle, who had to shake her head clear in order to stay focused.

"...Elly?" Wriggle asked, even though she knew who it was. Elly nodded in confirmation, and Wriggle stepped closer. "Uh... C-can I ask you something?"

Elly simply shrugged as best she could. Seeing as she was gagged, answering was going to be difficult, so Wriggle sighed and reached out, slipping the gag from Elly's mouth.

"I'd put that back on if I were you." Elly warned, her eyes serious and dark, which frightened Wriggle.

"W-why?"

"Yuuka's orders. Can't step within eight feet of my position, and I've already had my hour without the gag today." Elly explained. "You're allowed to stare, though."

Ignoring that messed up comment, Wriggle wrestled with the thought of asking her question and just re-gagging the gatekeeper and running the hell away, but before she could come to a decision, a hand gripped her shoulder tightly. Wriggle nearly fainted in fear, knowing who was behind her already.

"Ah, Wriglet, there you are!" Yuuka said happily. "I was wondering what was keeping you today. Trying to free Elly from her punishment? How silly!"

"I - I - I did - she was - I wasn't -" Wriggle stuttered, staring straight ahead (which happened to be a direction Elly would've much preferred to be somewhere else) and already breaking out in a cold sweat.

Yuuka smiled sweetly at the terrified bug, taking the gag from Wriggle's hand and approaching Elly.

"So, how's your day been?" Yuuka asked cheerfully as she slipepd the thing back around Elly's mouth.

"Mrtteh ood." Elly's muffled reply came. "'It oth."

"Yes, it is rather warm..." Yuuka muttered thoughtfully, gazing at the sky, where the sun lazily spread its light. "Well, I'm sure the night air will counter-balance the day's heat or something. Well, see you later, my precious-wecious Elly-Welly!"

Pinching Elly's cheek affectionately (on the face, of course), Yuuka threw an arm around Wriggle's shoulders, guiding her out for the village. Elly watched them go, head cocked to the side in wonder over who that boy with Yuuka was.

"By the way Elly, Wriggity's a girl~!" Yuuka called over her shoulder, as if she had read her servant's mind.

* * *

><p><em>Why the hell is she tormenting me?<em> Wriggle thought dully, staring at the cup of tea placed before her. _Wasn't yesterday enough? I must be the first person she targeted twice..._

"Nights, you're not drinking your tea." Yuuka pointed out gently, sipping at her own cup. "Is it the taste? I told you that taking morning tea in the afternoon was a silly idea."

The two were sat on Yuuka's patio, opposite from each other at her table. Yuuka had guided Wriggle to a seat, pulled out a bunch of cups, saucers and a teapot out of nowhere, and asked Wriggle if she wanted 'morning', 'afternoon' or 'evening' tea. Not knowing what the hell she was talking about, Wriggle picked one at random.

And now they were having what Wriggle could only describe as an awkward, lonely, tea party. Yuuka was all smiles and sunshine, while Wriggle provided an equal amount of doom and gloom, which Yuuka didn't seem to be aware of. Unless she was secretly relishing in Wriggle's despair.

"So, I noticed you were really interested in Elly." Yuuka said teasingly, which shocked Wriggle, who began to blush and splutter.

"I-I'm not! I didn't mean to look! S-she was right there and-"

Yuuka held up a hand for silence, and Wriggle immediately obeyed, shrinking in her seat a little.

"Relax, Buggu, I know Elly's one of the cutest little things ever, but I also know that's not what got you interested." Yuuka reassured Wriggle, who was wondering just how many nicknames Yuuka was going to milk before she got bored of it. Although she was a lot more curious about what Yuuka was getting at.

Taking another sip of her 'afternoon' tea, Yuuka continued, "See, what you felt when you saw Elly wasn't lust for that cute little body of hers, but envy for what she was going through. I'd drink that before it gets cold, by the way."

Wriggle nervously gulped the tea down, finding it was actually pretty nice, but she still fearfully watched Yuuka, who only smiled in satisfaction.

"There you go. Anyway, how did you feel, seeing my precious little Elly go through her little punishment?"

"Eh?" Wriggle was surprised by the question, and very much didn't want to answer. Yuuka placed her cup back on its saucer, pushing them to the side in order to rest her elbows on the table. Clasping her hands together, Yuuka sat her chin atop her hands and gave Wriggle a piercing glare, as if willing Wriggle to answer truthfully. Fearing for her life otherwise, Wriggle shamefully recounted what had briefly flashed in her mind.

"I... felt sorry for her?" Wriggle said, hoping to try and sidestep the question somehow. Yuuka nodded but kept staring, telling her to continue. "And, uh... weird?"

"In what way?" Yuuka asked with a sly smile.

Incredibly nervous and flustered now, Wriggle stared at her knees as she spoke. "I-I was... hot and... I... I..."

"Wanted to experience it for yourself." Yuuka finished for her, and Wriggle gave her a horrified look.

"No! No way I'd ever want that!"

Yuuka's grin only grew wider. "Whatever you say, Wrigaloo. By the way, how are you feeling now?"

Wriggle gave Yuuka wary look. "...Fine?"

"Mm-hm. And now?"

"Still fine? ..W-why are you asking?"

Yuuka stayed silent for several more seconds, regarding Wriggle with the creepiest cheery smile Wriggle had ever seen.

"... Now~?" Yuuka said almost teasingly, and Wriggle simply wanted to scream at the crazy freak's face, 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GETTING AT!'

However, at that moment, Wriggle felt an overwhelming fatigue flood through her body, and she stooped forward slightly.

"Wha...? What happe- What did you d..." Wriggle murmured, barely able to keep her eyes open as she glared at Yuuka, who only grinned devilishly.

_Did she poison that tea?_ Wriggle wondered faintly as she tried to get to her feet. _Figures, why didn't I see that coming?_

Unable to move, Wriggle fell back onto her seat, then her face planted itself on the table, barely missing her teacup, and she was snoring lightly a few seconds later.

With a girlish giggle, Yuuka got to her feet.

Fun time!" She declared happily, carefully picking up the slumbering youkai and carrying her in an almost tender fashion back inside the mansion.

* * *

><p>Wriggle awoke several hours later, feeling incredibly groggy. What had happened? With a groan, Wriggle sat up, noting with some confusion that she was on a large, fluffy bed with scarlet blankets. That was odd, since Wriggle didn't have a large fluffy bed.<p>

There was also the silk nightgown, lime green in colour. One thing Wriggle certainly didn't own was a lime green nightgown. Especially one that looked almost transparent...

"Wait... Hold on a minute..." Wriggle's eyes widened in horror when she remembered what happened just before falling asleep. Being in Yuuka's presence.

"Oh shit!" Wriggle yelled, leaping out of bed and stumbling to her feet immediately, searching the room for any sign of her kidnapper. It looked to be the same room Yuuka first found her in, which meant Wriggle could probably remember the way out...

Suddenly, the door crashed open, scaring the hell out of Wriggle as Yuuka marched inside, beaming happily. "Ah, my sleeping princess is awake! Right on cue!"

"What did you do to me?" Wriggle demanded, temporarily forgetting the consequences of talking in such a way to Yuuka.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind. She only grinned widely at Wriggle's question. "Nothing! Just gave you some morning tea in the afternoon. Must have made you sleepy, since you conked right out!"

"That was your fault, wasn't it?" Wriggle snarled, before horrified realisation crossed Wriggle's features, and she clamped her mouth shut with her hands, now looking like a terrified child.

Yuuka walked past Wriggle and sat on the bed, smirking deviously. "Well, maybe I should have warned you off the morning tea, but what's done is done, and I at least gave you a bed to sleep in."

_How oddly kind._ Wriggle thought as she slowly lowered her hands.

"And don't you worry about paying back my generosity, you already settled the debt!" Yuuka announced proudly, and Wriggle looked worried.

"D-debt?"

"Yeah, debt. My bed ain't free!" Yuuka chuckled. "So, I settled it with a little bit of fun."

Yuuka reached under the pillows and extracted several pictures, which Wriggle glanced at suspiciously.

"Photographs." Yuuka explained briefly to the younger youkai. "Taken by a deice called a 'camera'. An Outside World invention that freezes a single second in time or something. Thought I'd try it out. Here!"

Yuuka handed the pictures to Wriggle, who glanced at them with a horrified expression.

In each picture was Wriggle, in various costumes and poses. In one photo, Yuuka had dressed her up in a sailor uniform while she was sleeping away, blissfully unaware. In another, she was dressed in some weird fur bikini, and curled up on the bed.

Seeing herself wearing all kinds of costumes, from what was essentially strategically placed ribbons to some, regal looking outfit, to the nightgown she currently wore, Wriggle felt sick, and somewhat... Wriggle honestly wasn't sure how to describe it. Happy? Amused?

_No, this is wrong! It's sick beyond belief!_ Wriggle scolded herself, and glared at Yuuka, her previous fear forgotten. "Why? Why did you do this?"

"Hm? Debt settlement." Yuuka repeated. "Could've sworn I said that before..."

"No, I'm asking why this!" Wriggle snarled, practically shoving the pile of pictures in her face. "Look at them! Why am I wearing fucking_ ribbons_? What's wrong with you!"

Yuuka calmly pushed Wriggle's hand away, staring at her with an even expression and a cold smirk.

"You want to know why?" Yuuka asked with a sharp edge to her tone, which caused Wriggle to flinch and step back. "Do you really need me to tell you why I had a little harmless fun?"

Wriggle gulped, but said nothing. Yuuka slowly got to her feet, walking towards a retreating Wriggle until her back hit the wall. Shaking, Wriggle stared at the terrifying madwoman she had no doubt pissed off.

Yuuka leaned down, her face uncomfortably close to Wriggle's. "Should I tell you? What if the truth is too much to handle?"

Wriggle could only stare in terror as Yuuka continued to freeze the air with her smirk alone. Yuuka was hinting about something dark about her? Like what? Wriggle remembered the feeling of exhilaration, the envy she felt for Elly, and tried to shut them out. It was wrong! Yuuka was wrong! Wriggle hated that crap, and she hated Yuuka!

Suddenly, Yuuka pulled back and laughed, her voice filling the room. Wriggle was even more terrified now. Had she snapped... even more?

"Oh, the look on your face, Wrigs!" Yuuka gasped, falling back onto the bed. Wriggle continued to stare at her in confusion.

"You are so easy to tease!" Yuuka giggled. "Even Elly can take a little joke!"

"J-joke?" Wriggle repeated.

Yuuka raised herself to a seated position, smiling at Wriggle a little more warmly, but no less creepy. "Yes, a joke. Surely you're familiar with the concept?"

Wriggle nodded once, although she didn't know what the hell Yuuka's brand of jokes were meant to be. Acting like an ominous psycho?

"But... those pictures..." Wriggle muttered, looking at the pile still clutched in her hand.

"Oh, I'll take them if you don't want them," Yuuka offered. "Can't have them going to waste!"

_I'd much rather burn them_. Wriggle thought, although she found herself stepping closer to Yuuka, handing the pictures over without complaint. Yuuka's smile grew slightly wider for only a second.

"...Uh, how'd you get all those costumes in my size? And where's my clothes?" Wriggle asked, pulling up the nerve to question Yuuka. After all, she seemed to have gotten away with her earlier accusations, so this was nothing, right?

"Measured." Yuuka answered simply, and Wriggle only blinked at her.

"... That's... You know what, it's not important." Wriggle sighed. No point in getting angry over invasion of personal space. After all, she'd lost the will to fight over those photograph's. Which Wriggle sincerely hoped would never see the light of day again.

"And as for those tacky clothes..." Yuuka muttered, and Wriggle suppressed a scowl. "I took the time to make them prettier for you."

That didn't sound to appealing to Wriggle, and was almost too afraid to ask what she'd done with her clothes. With a proud grin, Yuuka somehow procured the garments from underneath the bed's quilt, and held up the shirt for Wriggle to see.

"Did you... cut it in half?" Wriggle asked in disbelief.

"Yeah! Baring your midriff is all the rage, I've heard!" Yuuka said happily. "Should help with that whole 'Wriggle's a guy!' problem, too."

Another suppressed scowl from Wriggle. "But... I know I'm a few decades old, but do I _look_ old enough to be wearing that?"

"I dunno. I think it's pretty." Yuuka said with a small pout, then held up Wriggle's shorts - or rather, what they had been turned into.

"Is... is that a skirt?" Wriggle asked, wondering how Yuuka redesigned it so... professionally. You'd never guess they were once legged garments. Especially since the skirt's length was far inferior to the shorts they once were. "A... really, really short skirt?"

It goes with the shirt." Yuuka pointed out with glee. "And girl's really like tiny skirts!"

"But... With that..." Wriggle couldn't comprehend this woman's thinking. "You could see my underwear from higher ground with that thing!"

"And I can see your underwear through your nightgown, what's your point?"

Wriggle's face grew red as she realised that the nightgown was indeed somewhat transparent. She had kinda forgotten that with everything else that had happened just now.

"What the hell?" Wriggle yelled, feeling infuriated, humiliated, excited-

_Wait, what?_ Wriggle wondered, calming down ever so slightly. _What did I just feel?_

Yuuka grinned at the confused bug, enjoying her conflicting emotions. She could tell how scared Wriggle was of herself. After all, she had recently taken an interest in the crazy youkai before her, and couldn't explain her fascination with her. And now, every time something something she should find horrific happened, she was equally excited about it.

_I love it when they're just blooming into their true self..._ Yuuka thought with a little mental chuckle. Wriggle interested her greatly, partly for being somewhat like Elly. Like her devoted gate keeper, Wriggle was inexplicably attracted to Yuuka somehow. Unlike Elly, however, who wasn't much for seeking out punishment (Even if she took it really well), Wriggle was more similar to Yuuka that way. It appealed to her.

However, Yuuka also enjoyed messing with her head a little. It was fun, instilling fear into the young youkai, and intriguing that Wriggle, for all her fears and promises not to return, would somehow find her way back.

"So, it's getting a little late, Wriggler." Yuuka said, pointing to the window, where it was clearly still daylight. "Might wanna fly off to your own bed now."

All too happy to get the hell out, Wriggle nervously took her clothes from Yuuka, and wondered if she should even wear them. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if Yuuka laced them with some weird poison that seeped through skin or something.

Still, it was better than that stupid nightgown, and when Yuuka left (after painfully pinching one of her antennae for no real reason), quickly changed into the horribly revealing clothes.

_This. Is. So. Goddamn. Embarrassing_. Wriggle thought as she blushed, even though no one was there to see (Except the flowers, but they didn't count). Still, at least Wriggle had a change of clothes stashed away in a few of her hideouts. She would just change there and hope none of her friends saw her.

Wriggle hurried from the mansion as quickly as she could. For some reason, Wriggle couldn't find her footwear, and wasn't about to waste time looking. Strangely, despite getting horribly, horribly lost last time she traversed the mansion, Wriggle felt as if she knew exactly where to go, and was outside within moments.

_Is it really late? sure looks like the middle of the day to me..._ Wriggle thought to herself as she took to the sky and sped off over the garden of flowers._ Well, whatever. As long as I never come ba-_

Something struck Wriggle's stomach, causing her to double over and fall to the ground. Hitting the ground (somehow cleared of flowers again) hard, Wriggle cried out as her whole body ached with pain.

_No. Not this again!_ Wriggle thought as she shuddered where she lay, anticipating another volley of bullets.

None came however. Wriggle was aware of Yuuka walking to her side, crouching next to the frightened bug.

"Forgot to say," Yuuka spoke cheerfully. "I don't like it when people swear in my house. Please don't do it again, 'kay?"

"O-okay." Wriggle choked, fighting back tears.

"And here, you left these." Yuuka placed Wriggle's shoes next to the girl. "Well, see you soon, my lovely Nightbug!"

Yuuka left Wriggle, who struggled to a sitting position as her body slowly healed and dulled the pain. Glancing at her shoes, Wriggle was glad to see they remained unchanged, and hurriedly pulled them on before shakily taking flight.

_Any more of this and I'm gonna die..._ Wriggle thought dully, barely registering that she had somehow arrived in the Forest of Magic, darkened by the night sky.


	3. Chapter 3  Proving A Point

"So... anyone know what's up with Wriggle?" Cirno asked the group.

The afore-mentioned ice fairy, her best friend Daiyousei, Mystia and Rumia were gathered at the edge of the misty lake, where the Scarlet Devil Mansion could be seen a small distance away. This was one their usual hangout spots, since it was usually empty of travellers.

Mystia frowned, gazing at the lake. "I noticed she was acting a bit weird last night, but she wouldn't say anything... then she didn't turn up until after midnight."

"And those clothes!" Rumia said in disbelief. "I mean, I never knew Wriggle wanted to be seen as a girl that badly! I could see her underwear from above!"

Cirno sniggered a little at this. "Now that's what I call a magic skirt."

"Let's take this a bit more seriously." Daiyousei suggested before a fight could occur. Like Cirno, she was an ice fairy, and fairly mischievous. Nowhere near Cirno's level, and definitely the quickest to change from silly to serious. She was the closest thing the group had to a level head most of the time.

"Fine. So, Wriggle shows up dressed like a... um, different. Weird, but not inherently alarming." Rumia said.

"Yeah, but she was also acting weird and was kinda missing for a day, remember?" Mystia sighed. "And now she's avoiding us."

True, after Wriggle had come across Rumia and Mystia, seeing her in those embarrassing clothes, she had babbled something about trying to modify her clothes and messed up horribly, and there was absolutely no sinister, creepy, scary, or just plain wrong reasons that she was wearing said clothes, and had zipped off, looking ready to burst into tears.

Cirno frowned thoughtfully. She was calling up a small modicum of her 'genius' to figure out her friend's problem. After a moment, the answer became clear.

"Ha! I should've known!" Cirno declared, drawing a questioning look from everyone in the group. "Wriggle has a lover!"

A stunned silence followed this statement, everyone trying to make sense of it. Finally, Daiyousei spoke up.

"That... seems a little plausible..." She muttered thoughtfully. "After all, she was acting all embarrassed and evasive..."

"And those clothes?" Rumia enquired.

"I think she was, uh... what d'you call it...? Role play?"

Cirno and Rumia burst out laughing, leaving Daiyousei and Mystia to glance at each other in confusion.

"Oh man, I - I never thought Wriggle was into that!" Rumia said in between giggles.

"I never knew she was that committed!" Cirno laughed back. Their laughter was beginning to irk Mystia.

"Shut up, right now!" She screeched. When that didn't work, Mystia grumbled, cleared her throat, and began to sing a low, melancholic melody. It didn't take long before the other two stopped laughing, and began to cry out in shock as their vision darkened.

"Guys, you're supposed to be quiet!" The green-haired ice fairy warned them, and they promptly shut up. When silence was at last obtained, Mystia ceased her singing, and the darkness lifted from Cirno and Rumia's vision.

"Jeez, Mysty..." Rumia grumbled. "Just because I like the dark doesn't mean I can see through... whatever your voice does."

"Now, I don't think I buy this 'lover' thing for a few reasons," Mystia said, holding up a taloned hand. "One: We, or at least, I would know. Wriggle wouldn't keep it a secret."

_Jealousy..._ The thought passed Cirno and Rumia's mind, while Daiyousei simply thought, _Yeah, we probably would know about a lover..._

"Two," Mystia continued, lowering a talon, "Wriggle would never, under any circumstances, wear clothes like that. As much as she hates being called a boy, she hates looking like she's trying to hard to be a girl even more."

"And three, I'm quite sure Wriggle's scared of something. No, scratch that, she definitely scared," Mystia finished, her eyes narrowed. "And I don't like it."

The others looked at Mystia in some surprise. While none of them would tolerate a friend being picked on, it was rare to see any of them truly angry about it, especially since there was no definite proof of anything.

"Well, we can't ask Wriggle, can we?" Daiyousei said thoughtfully. "She would just dodge the question... But how else are we supposed to find out what's wrong?"

Another silence fell unto the group, trying to find an answer. Finally, Cirno's genius pulled through once again.

"I got it! Stealth!" Cirno declared.

* * *

><p>All in all, Wriggle concluded that that recent events sucked hard. From getting discovered by Yuuka, to getting discovered by her friends wearing those ruined clothes, the sad little youkai had certainly seen better days. And if things kept up, she wasn't going to be seeing any better days for a long, long time.<p>

What Yuuka had said bothered Wriggle, even if it was a 'joke'. Try as she might, Wriggle couldn't escape the feeling that Yuuka wasn't joking around. Something about that chilling confrontation rang true with Wriggle, and she didn't like it.

Now, wearing an outfit similar to her normal clothes, with even baggier trousers and a twin-tailed, dark cape wrapped around her shoulders, Wriggle has secluded herself where she was sure her friends wouldn't find her: Marisa's house.

It was almost as moronic as sneaking into Yuuka's mansion, Wriggle knew, but she didn't want to see anyone. Not Yuuka or her own friends, and Marisa was gone. She had snuck into an open window at the back on a whim, content that she wouldn't be found within the mountainous pile of objects that may or may not belong to Marisa. It was weird, though. Wriggle expected booby traps or something.

_Will she leave me alone today?_ Wriggle wondered dully. _As long as I don't go near her house, or Elly, maybe she'll just forget all about me and I can just forget about her... and then I can go back to messing around with everyone again._

Although, Wriggle had to wonder, just why did Yuuka have to target her twice? Okay, so the first time she might have deserved it for breaking and entering, but talking to Elly was an honest mistake! Surely Yuuka could have been reasonable and let her off with a warning? Instead, she dragged Wriggle back to her mansion, drugged her, and snapped messed up pictures. Wriggle wasn't sure how to feel about them being in Yuuka's possession, but it was better than Mystia and the other's seeing them. Maybe.

"Yeah, that's what I'll do. Just stay away from anything Yuuka-related! I won't even think about her!" Wriggle declared, sounded sure and resolute as she rose from her crouched position. Feeling as if she'd just discovered the answer to all her problems, Wriggle cheerfully navigated her way to the front door, which took a lot longer than it should have.

Finally reaching the front door, Wriggle threw it open, noticed a surprised witch on the other side with an outstretched hand, and realised that she just went and created a whole new problem, with much more explosive consequences.

"...Uh, wrong house?" Wriggle said nervously, as the blonde girl wearing a black dress, white apron and black, pointed hat narrowed her golden eyes at Wriggle. In one hand, a broom was clutched tightly.

"Yeah, wrong house, all right." Marisa Kirisame said coldly. "Wrong house to burgle, ze."

Wriggle took a nervous step back, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. "N-no! I swear, I was just hiding-"

"Still stupid beyond all comprehension." Marisa replied.

"...Y-yeah, it is, but I've been having a lousy time!" Wriggle stammered. "I wasn't thinking! So, uh, I'll just leave now, huh?"

Marisa stepped closer to the frightened bug. "Yeah, let me help you leave a little quicker."

A few seconds later, Wriggle was thrown unceremoniously outside, then propelled deeper into the forest with a blinding, white light tinged with green. Howling in pain, Wriggle was smashed through several trees and shrubs, coming to a stop somewhere on a forest path, face in the dirt.

_Of all the spells she has..._ Wriggle thought, _Why the hell did it have to be a Master Spark?_

"Wow, that's surprising. Judging by that light show, I take it you pissed off our resident witch?" A voice in front of Wriggle spoke.

Slowly raising her aching head, Wriggle noticed another blonde girl standing before her, wearing an expression that wasn't quite pity, but not quite contempt either.

"Mishundurshtanen." Wriggle slurred, getting to her knees. Her body was already healing from the damage.

"I'll bet. Here." The woman pulled Wriggle to her feet, steadying the youkai before brushing dirt of her clothes. "You seem familiar. I think I've seen you screwing with humans from time to time."

"Screwing with humans! Screwing Humans Ha ha!" A shrill voice spoke from above, startling Wriggle. Looking up, she saw what looked like a fairy, but something about it seemed... off.

With a small sigh, the blonde girl said, "Quiet, Shangai."

"Will do! I shall stop talking presently!" Shangai announced before falling silent.

Finished with her dusting, the girl glanced at the youkai with a small frown. "Can I ask what that was ab-"

She suddenly looked over her shoulder, looking suspicious. Wriggle glanced in the direction too, but saw nothing.

"Thought I felt someone..." Alice muttered before shrugging. "Well, anyway, you'd best not get into another misunderstanding with that Marisa. Bit of a wild one."

"Y-yeah." Wriggle agreed, knowing that already. Without another word, the girl and that weird fairy, Shangai, walked off.

Wriggle glanced around, wondering what the woman had been looking for. A rustling to her right drew Wriggle's attention, and she wearily watched for any movement, listened for any sounds.

Another rustling to her right, and Wriggle decided it was best to move on. For all she knew, it was just some fairies messing around, but she didn't want to take chances. For all she knew, she was invading some youkai's favourite pathway now.

Taking to the sky, Wriggle flew through the forest, hoping she was just being paranoid. After all, between Yuuka's unwanted attention and Marisa being all evil and stuff, Wriggle wasn't in the greatest of mind sets. For all she knew, it was just a little bit of wind-

Something dark flitted below, passing from bush to bush, and doing a terrible job of concealing itself. Wriggle nearly panicked until she realised it was a large, black sphere she saw, and Wriggle knew what that meant.

Coming to a stop, Wriggle glared at the general area where the ball had disappeared into the forest. "Rumia! Come out here, right now!"

Silence, then a defeated sigh as (yet another) blonde haired girl made her appearance. With her ball of darkness dispelled, Rumia stepped from behind a tree, a sullen look on her face. "Hey Wriggle. How'd you see me?"

"Oh gee, I really don't know," Wriggle replied, arms folded. "A giant ball of black blends in so well with the forest in daylight."

"But I was so fast..." Rumia grumbled, "And I didn't even crash for once."

"Lovely, so what are you doing, trying to scare me like that?"

Rumia blinked, and stared at the ground, abashed. "I - I wasn't trying to... I wanted to, um..."

"...You weren't spying on me, were you?" Wriggle asked accusingly, and Rumia flinched.

"Not spying! Just... looking out for you, ya know?"

"Why?"

Rumia wondered why Wriggle was so confrontational all of a sudden. What had brought that on? Rumia had noticed Wriggle had been sent flying near her general area by a large laser, but if someone beat her up, why take it out on her? Rumia was more than happy to kick the ass of anyone who messed with her friends.

"Look, Wriggle, I'm sorry I was sneaking around, but I was worried! You were acting weird last night!"

"I wasn't! For the last time, I just messed up-"

They were interrupted by a singing voice, soft, and although there was no one to be seen, sounded awfully close. The voice also shook Wriggle to the core as she immediately dropped to ground level.

"Uh, Wriggle?" Rumia asked, wondering what the sudden change in demeanour was about. Wriggle dashed to Rumia's side and clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes darting around the forest, looking for the source of the singing.

"Can you hear that?" Wriggle whispered. Rumia nodded, feeling horribly confused. What was the big deal? The singer clearly wasn't Mystia, but that wasn't something to get scared about...

Wriggle however, saw something to be afraid off. _Why here? Why now? Why won't she leave me alone?_ "Rumia... we have to go, and keep a low, low profile."

Rumia gave her a questioning look. "There's no time to explain. Please, let's just go now." Wriggle whispered. Lowering her hand, and taking Rumia's in her other, she began to tiptoe in a direction she hoped wasn't the voice's direction. It didn't seem to be getting any further or closer.

Once Wriggle had led Rumia into the hollow of a tree, which led to a small burrow underground, the darkness youkai took the time to ask, "Okay, what's going on here?"

Wriggle didn't answer immediately, instead staring at the hole as if she just trapped them in a death pit. "... I... I could sense a dangerous presence."

"...Huh?" Rumia looked confused. "Like what?"

"I don't know!" Wriggle lied. "Let's just wait until it goes away, huh?"

Rumia gave Wriggle a questioning look. Even without her excellent night vision, Wriggle would have seen those questioning, scarlet eyes. "What?"

"... Is this why you've been acting strange?" Rumia asked. "Because of someone singing?"

Wriggle blinked in confusion. "Well, er..."

"'Cause if so, then it must be some sort of curse you've fallen under!" Rumia declare a little too loudly for Wriggle's liking. That singing was uncomfortably close. "You've been, uh... amamured? Something, and it's making you go out all night and wear tiny clothes!"

"...Sure." Wriggle sighed, thinking it better than having Rumia know that she was now Yuuka's new toy. "So, let's just wait for it to leave..."

Rumia snorted. "To hell with that! I'll kick its ass and free you from its binds!" She declared bravely. Rumia was about to leap back up through the hole when Wriggle grabbed her wrist tightly.

"Ow! Wriggle, le'go so I can-"

"Don't! It - It's too powerful!" Wriggle exclaimed, which was very true. Yuuka could probably kill a fairy permanently just by pointing at at it and shouting 'bang!'. No way in hell was Wriggle about to let Rumia get herself slaughtered.

Rumia gave Wriggle a questioning look, wondering why she was so adamant that they keep away from that singing voice. After all, even if it was a strong youkai, maybe the two of them together could take it? Or hell, just get the whole gang together. And if Wriggle still had doubts, throw in Sunny Milk's group and Chen. Problem solved!

"Wriggle... am I missing a few key details here?"

Wriggle denied by shaking her head, then immediately froze when someone spoke behind them, at apparently the exact same time the singing stopped.

"Oh, Wiggle, You're so protective of your pals! That's just great!" A creepily cheerful voice spoke. Rumia yelped in surprise and glared at where the voice had come from. She could make out a green haired woman with a pink umbrella, not the sight you'd expect to see in a burrow hidden within a tree. When did she get there?

"You! You're the one who's terrorising Wriggle, aren't you!" Rumia demanded, clearly not recognising the force of nature before her. Of course she knew of Yuuka Kazami, but had never seen her in person.

Wriggle broke herself free of her frightened stupor to drag Rumia back. "Don't! Can't you see that's Yu-"

"Stop it, Wriggle! I''ll kick her ass and end this curse thingy!"

Yuuka only chuckled in amusement, but done nothing more, which scared Wriggle. Was she just going to nonchalantly hurt and humiliate Rumia here?

Rumia didn't look too concerned, and why should she? They were flooded in darkness, aside from the tiny ray of light that barely filtered from outside, they were in total darkness. Rumia's playing field.

"Now, if you promise to release Wriggle from your curse now, I might just settle for beating you nearly to death for messing with her." Rumia said with a cold grin. She was feeling in total control right now.

Yuuka's reply was an amused grin. "Suit yourself." Rumia growled, happy to destroy this youkai.

"Rumia, don't! Please!" Wriggle begged, but Rumia had already trapped Yuuka in a sphere of darkness, cutting her off from everything outside.

Moving to the sphere, Rumia carefully plunged her hand inside, and began firing bullets. At this range, there was no way they'd miss.

Quickly pulling her hand back out, Rumia stepped around the sphere, plunging her hand inside once again to fire from a different angle. She kept at this for several moments, until she was satisfied she's dealt more than enough damage.

"Heh. Easiest battle ever!" Rumia declared triumphantly. "I doubt she'll be bothering you any more, Wriggle!"

When no reply came, Rumia frowned and glanced around. She couldn't see Wriggle at all, despite her perfect vision in the dark. "W-Wriggle?"

Sensing something was wrong, Rumia evaporated her dark sphere, and her scarlet eyes bulged in shock and horror when she found it completely empty.

* * *

><p>Wriggle hadn't even noticed she was abducted until she was staring at the front gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, with Yuuka gripping her shoulder tightly as always. With a start, she pulled away, facing the smiling youkai with a look of terror.<p>

"W-what'd you do?" Wriggle gasped.

"Moved," Yuuka replied simply, holding her umbrella like a cane. "I figured that you didn't want your cute little friend to see our game, and how could I deny the wish of my lovely little Nightbug?"

"My wish?" Wriggle repeated suspiciously. "Did you miss the one where I don't want to see you aga-"

Realising that she, once again, was bout to bad mouth Yuuka, Wriggle forced her jaw shut, and took a wary step back, knowing that was pointless, if Yuuka were to take offence. Oddly enough, Yuuka only chuckled.

"I only grant your true wishes, Wrig-bug." Yuuka replied cheerfully. "You say you don't like me, but if that was true, why do always seem to think of me? And don't think I never noticed the numerous times you tried to sneak into my mansion!"

Wriggle looked unnerved, and took another step back. "You... how d'you kn-"

"I can read you so clearly, Wriggle." Yuuka replied, her voice calm, chilling. "You and me? We're like... kindred spirits, maybe? We have a little something in common, and that's something that interests me greatly."

"B-but we're nothing alike!" Wriggle gasped. "I-I-I'm an insect youkai! I'm weak, and I'm not cra- er, smart or-"

Yuuka placed a finger to Wriggle's lips, silencing her with her surprisingly warm touch. "Not that," She whispered, almost conspiratorially. "I'm talking about the part of you that you won't stop denying, for whatever reason."

Wriggle only looked confused at Yuuka's statement, her heart thudding rapidly against her chest.

"Tell me, My little Wriggle, how do you feel whenever I turn my hand against you?" Yuuka asked, removing her finger from Wriggle lips, who had begun to quake.

"I-It hurts." She replied.

"And?"

"That's it?"

Yuuka smiled slightly, her eyes showing that she knew Wriggle was lying. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Wriggle hesitated, then nodded, unsure as to why she was lying. It wasn't going to end well, after all.

"So, you only feel the pain?" Yuuka muttered to herself, smiling darkly, which terrified Wriggle. "Hm... Forgive me, Nighty, but I just can't bring myself to believe those words."

"But I-" Wriggle began, and squeaked in fear when Yuuka suddenly slammed a palm into the wall of the Mansion's gates, leaning close to Wriggle.

"Now now, Wriggles, there's no shame to admitting it," Yuuka said cheerfully, at odds with her previous action. "So it happens to be your interest, doesn't mean you have to act all embarrassed about it!"

Wriggle only looked confused and fearful as Yuuka moved her hand to cup Wriggle's face, and found herself wishing Yuuka was going to attack her, rather than act intimate.

"There's no shame in being a little like me," Yuuka whispered. "And there's no shame in loving me, either."

Wriggle was silent for god knows how long, her wide eyes staring at Yuuka in shock. Her mind was struggling to comprehend what was just said. It obviously wasn't true! Wriggle could never love this monster! This was just a mind game, another attempt to torture-

"And, to make you feel better, I'll prove a point." Yuuka suddenly said, her hand moving down to Wriggle's arm, which she gripped tightly. Before Wriggle could ask what she was doing, the bug suddenly found herself flying over the gates, falling straight for a sleeping woman wearing a green uniform of some kind.

The two collided painfully, causing Wriggle to roll on the ground, clutching her head in pain, while the woman with the long, auburn hair woke with a start, clutching her own forehead with a slightly pained grimace. Spotting Wriggle in her pained, half-asleep state, the Mansion's gatekeeper made the connection.

_An intruder! Thought she could attack me when I was momentarily distracted, did she! Not on my watch!_ Hong Meiling thought, picking Wriggle up by the collar of her shirt.

"Ah! S-s-sorry! I-I-I didn't mean it!" Wriggle wailed, desperately trying to escape the woman's clutches. Normally, Meiling was a pleasant person, when she was actually awake. Disrupting her sleep could have disastrous consequences however, and Wriggle was on the receiving end of said consequence.

"You'll need more than that weak attack to defeat me!" Meiling declared, apparently not hearing Wriggle's cries. Pulling her fist back, Meiling punched the unfortunate Wriggle towards the gates. As Wriggle fought against the blackout that threatened to overwhelm her, Meiling had somehow rushed ahead, grabbed Wriggle before she slammed into the stone walls, and threw Wriggle back over.

"And stay out, ya weakling!" Meiling yelled, pleased with a job well done. Had she known that she essentially beat up a child, youkai or not, Meiling would be seeking out her Mistress Flandre to receive her just punishment. But for now, Meiling returned to standing guard at the front door, and fell asleep a second later.

Wriggle landed on the ground, stunned and with a few broken ribs. She sobbed quietly as Yuuka crouched next to Wriggle, stroking her face gently.

"Was that any fun?" Yuuka asked, her tone that of a concerned parent teaching their child a lesson. Wriggle only sobbed harder, finding nothing fun about this at all.

"Rest up, my princess." Yuuka said gently as she stood tall. "I'll be back in a minute, and then we'll move onto the second part of my point."

Wriggle would have attempted to flee as Yuuka walked up to the Mansion's gate and threw them open, but she was still healing. And it was obvious that Yuuka would find her, no matter how fast she ran, or how far she travelled. She was like a shadow, always behind Wriggle.

Sounds of pain reached her ears, and Wriggle wondered just what was going on. Yuuka's voice said something unintelligible, more groans of pain, a new voice confronting Yuuka, a calm explanation, and someone else had appeared next to Wriggle, inspecting her.

Wriggle briefly glimpsed a silver-haired woman in a blue maid's uniform before she seemed to disappear once again, and more talking could be heard. A few minutes later, Yuuka re-emerged, scooped Wriggle into her arms, and began walking.

"Had a few 'words' with that gate keeper of theirs." Yuuka explained cheerfully. "Then I told the head-maid the situation, so everything's been cleared up."

"Oh?" Wriggle found herself saying. "Did you tell them the part where you tried to have China kill me?"

"What? No! Why would I want her to kill you!" Yuuka sounded shocked at this accusation. "Goodness, Night-Wrig, I was only demonstrating a point!"

"And that would be?"

"That you don't get off on just anyone wailing on you!" Yuuka said happily, and Wriggle took a few minutes to get what that meant, and was revolted.

"What! I don't 'get off' on anyone hitting me! That's sick!"

Yuuka simply laughed. "True, you don't get off on just 'anyone', as we're about to see."

_Someone kill me..._ Wriggle thought, although it seemed rather half-hearted for a thought. As Yuuka carried the young youkai off somewhere (her mansion, no doubt), Wriggle found that she wasn't struggling in any way. Rather, she felt content where she was, in Yuuka's arms, and it disturbed her deeply.

Mystia, Daiyousei and Cirno were at the Misty Lake once again, each having failed to locate Wriggle. She wasn't in any area they thought she'd be, and the group was getting rather worried, even if Cirno wasn't showing it.

"I'm telling you guys, she's perfectly fine!" The ice-fairy was saying for the tetra-trillionth time. "It's not like she's involved with dangerous youkai, you know?"

"And I'm still not convinced, okay? So drop it." Mystia growled.

"Well, maybe Rumia found her?" Daiyousei suggested hopefully. "That could be why they aren't back yet. Rumia's just convincing her to-"

At that moment, Rumia appeared, crashing through several branches and looking absolutely horrible. Her hair was a mess of leaves and sticks, her eyes wide and teary-eyed, and her dress was scratched.

"Guys! I'm sorry, I messed up so badly!" Rumia wailed, and Mystia's insides turned cold. Whilst the two ice-fairies felt no change, they were no less worried.

"What happened? Where you attacked?" Cirno demanded, her eyes flashing cold at the thought of someone in her gang getting beat up, which was a semi-regular occurrence, really.

Rumia shook her head. "Uh, kinda. Not really, but she took her! She did something and took Wriggle!"

"Who?" Mystia snarled, grabbing Rumia's shoulder's, her talons nearly piercing Rumia's skin. "Who took Wriggle? Why'd you allow it?"

"I didn't!" Rumia protested, making no real effort to dislodge Mystia's claws. "I trapped her in my bubble and she got out and took Wriggle without me seeing and I've been looking forever and-"

"All right, calm down!" Cirno commanded, and Rumia shut up, although she still gazed fearfully into Mystia's angered eyes. "Rumia, please, calmly tell us what happened."

Rumia took a deep breathe, and recounted following Wriggle for a few moments, getting discovered, and Wriggle running away from the youkai who had that cursed singing voice. They hid in the burrow under the tree, but whoever they were running from was already there. Rumia tried to attack, but while trapped in her sphere of darkness, somehow escaped and silently stole Wriggle away.

Mystia's talons were shaking as she listened. "How could you be so careless?" She spat at Rumia, who flinched.

"Mysty, stop it," Cirno commanded, arms folded over her pale blue dress. "Rumia tried, okay? All we have to do is find the kidnapper. What did she look like?"

"Uh..." Rumia tried to recall the woman's appearance. "Dark, green hair... had a pink umbrella..."

Mystia's eyes widened as Rumia continued her description. "I think she had this... kinda square-patterned skirt and vest thingy, all red and stuff... oh, and she was all smiles. Never left her face."

At that moment, Mystia cursed, drawing everyone's attention to the sparrow, who now looked utterly terrified.

"Mysty? What's wrong?" Daiyousei asked, sounding worried.

"Can't you recognise that description?" Mystia asked, staring at her friends. When they all returned blank looks, she resisted the urge to scream. "It's_Yuuka_ freakin' _Kazami!_ Wriggle's been taken by the worst monster in existence!"

That refreshed everyone's memory. Daiyousei squeaked and fell to the ground, Rumia was dumbfounded, and swayed where she stood. Even Cirno, the self-proclaimed strongest and genius, paled at the mention of her name.

"Oh god, I hope she's all right..." Mystia muttered, fighting the tears that threatened to escape. All this time, It was Yuuka Kazami who was tormenting Wriggle? This was bad...


	4. Chapter 4 Love

Another bullet whizzed passed Wriggle's head, causing her to duck on a reflex as she flew as fast as she could away from the demonic woman chasing after her, firing bullet after bullet and laughing all the while.

With absolutely nowhere to hide within Yuuka's garden of flowers, all Wriggle could do was flee aimlessly. The last thing she wanted was a storm of bullets to riddle her body... even if the chase was kind of exciting.

Fifteen minutes earlier, Yuuka had brought the healing Wriggle back to her home once more, and when she felt Wriggle was ready, began the second part of her 'point'.

"As I said, you don't like just anyone beating you senseless!" Yuuka had recapped cheerfully. "And yet, there's always an emotion that accompanies the pain and fear you feel when I'm involved! You won't be able to deny it after this!"

And so, here they were. Yuuka was simply toying with Wriggle, and the bug youkai knew it. Yuuka seemed to be deliberately missing her mark just barely, having the bullets graze Wriggle as she tried to escape, which only made Wriggle's heart beat faster, and she was furiously battling to keep a grin off her face.

_This is wrong! Nothing about this is fun or exciting! She only wants to drive me to insanity and/or kill me!_ Wriggle scolded herself, and another bullet nicked her shoulder.

Well, if there was one good thing about this game of Yuuka's, it was that she seemed to be a really slow flier. While Wriggle found it hard to believe, given that the freaky youkai seemed to warp constantly, Wriggle was at least slowly gaining some distance. With any luck, she could outmanoeuvre Yuuka until she got bored.

_Tch, there I go, relying on my luck again._ Wriggle thought. _Because my luck has served me so well bef-_

A bullet struck her back, just between her shoulder blades, and Wriggle fell to the ground with a surprised yelp. As she fell, more bullets slammed into her, striking her torso and head.

As per usual, the flower's seemed to part of their own accord when she hit the ground. The young insect youkai lay panting as Yuuka approached, descending to the ground with an elegant step.

"So how was that?" Yuuka asked sweetly. "A whole load'a fun, right?"

Wriggle didn't answer, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. After all, the fun she had evading Yuuka's attacks was unmistakable, and Wriggle only hated herself all the more for it. And when the bullets struck, Wriggle felt joy as well as pain, as if getting shot by Yuuka was the most pleasurable thing ever.

Yuuka could already tell what Wriggle was feeling, just by staring into her confused eyes. Crouching next to Wriggle, Yuuka helped her into a sitting position. "So Bugsy, can't tell me you didn't like that. I could see that cute little smile of yours from miles away!"

Wriggle only kept her gaze to the ground, feeling ashamed of herself. _Still a newbie to this line of fun..._ Yuuka thought affectionately. "Come on then, how about some tea?"

"No thanks, I'd rather keep these clothes on." Wriggle muttered, and Yuuka chuckled at her comment.

"Oh, W.N., when did you grow so bold?" Yuuka asked, ruffling the younger youkai's hair. "I remember as if it were yesterday, you couldn't even speak to me without wetting yourself!"

Wriggle didn't answer, instead getting to her feet and dejectedly brushing her clothes off.

"If it's all the same to you, I just want to go home," Wriggle stated. "There's a few things I want to lament over."

"Like what?" Yuuka asked, sounding surprised. "Come now, Wriggle honey, there's no need to hate yourself over your personal preferences! Why, just look at me!"

_And you wonder why I feel like shit?_ Wriggle thought darkly, but instead said, "I'm going."

"Boo, that's no fun!" Yuuka pouted, although she made no move to keep Wriggle. After all, she knew that the young bug would return. For now, Yuuka would just let her sort her feelings out.

_Ah, my darling little Wriggle, soon you'll be a whole being..._ Yuuka thought wistfully.

* * *

><p>Wriggle didn't know when exactly she had left Yuuka's garden, she was too busy mulling over what Yuuka had been saying to her. As much as Wriggle wanted to dismiss her words as a giant load of crap, there was a hint of truth to them.<p>

Is it really love I feel? Wriggle wondered miserably. How can that be possible? Isn't love supposed to... I don't know, feel good?

Wriggle had never felt so confused before. On the one hand, she was scared of Yuuka, and hated the way she non-chalantly abused her for no real reason. On the other hand, Wriggle actually liked it. the pain, the fear... if they weren't drowned by excitement or exhilaration, they were equalled.

_But why me, of all people? Why did I have to be the one Yuuka messes with? Did she get bored with her gate keeper?_

With a sigh, Wriggle took in her surroundings. She was near the Misty Lake. Wriggle decided that she might as well find her friends. She had a feeling Rumia would of informed them of her abduction by now...

* * *

><p>"Okay, I've been brainstorming our plan of action very, very thoroughly!" Cirno declared to her gang, who all looked frightened at what they were planning to do.<p>

Cirno, wielding a small staff made of ice, was marching back and forth, tapping the ice-staff against the palm of her free hand. "Now, our enemy is rather fomiderble-"

"'Formidable'." Daiyousei corrected.

"- But nevertheless, she is heavily disadvantaged against our combined might!" Cirno declared bravely. "Okay, first thing's first: We infiltrate Yuuka's home and confront her directly!"

Mystia buried her face in her talons.

"I, as the most powerful member of our group, shall provide most of the fire power against her!" Cirno continued, trying her best not to look scared at the prospect. "With my power over ice, I have the type advantage! Dai, I'll need you to provide support."

Daiyousei nodded hesitantly. "I'll... Oh, I can freeze the area around us and provide a cold environment in order to boost your own attacks!" Daiyousei volunteered.

"Thanks. Rumia, Mystia, it'll be up to you two to locate Wriggle and safely get the hell outta there!" Cirno continued. "While I'll no doubt have Yuuka on the ropes, even I might be feeling drained of my vast power, so we need to make this quick, so... about three seconds tops, okay?"

"That's a fine plan and all," Wriggle said, "But at what point did you think 'yeah, this will work! We can totally last three seconds against Yuuka and save her pet at the same time'?"

"Wriggle!" Mystia squealed, leaping to her feet and tackling Wriggle to the ground with a hug. The others crowded around them, looking immensely relieved that their friend turned out to be okay.

"Wriggle, I thought you were in trouble!" Mystia wailed, looking like she was trying not to cry. With a small smile, Wriggle tried to push her off and allow her to breathe.

"Not really. Just... Um..."

"Wriggle, I'm so sorry!" Rumia apologised. "I let Yuuka capture you and I wasn't good enough to help and-"

"Calm down," Wriggle sighed as Mystia finally climbed to her feet and helped Wriggle up. "You couldn't have done anything..."

Cirno peered closely at Wriggle. "You're definitely okay? She didn't do anything...weird, did she?"

Not this time... "No, it was... just a little game she was playing."

"And that's supposed to reassure us?" Mystia asked. "Look, if Yuuka's bullying you, we'll do everything possible to stop her!"

As thankful as Wriggle was for their concern, she shook her head. "Thanks guys, but it doesn't matter. She isn't going to kill me, anyway."

Everyone looked confused as Wriggle scratched the back of her neck nervously. "It's... a bit much to explain, and I wanna be alone for a bit. I promise I'll explain once I figure this out, but..."

"We can't leave you alone!" Mystia interrupted. "Every time we do, that monster kidnaps you, and don't tell me that nothing weird ever happens to you there!"

"Mysty..." Wriggle sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Please, I just need some time to sort things out. Yuuka won't a problem right now."

Mystia stared into Wriggle's eyes, noting a resigned look in them, and that frightened her.

"Wriggle..."

Wriggle turned and walked away. "I won't be too long, okay? See you guys later."

The gang watched wordlessly as Wriggle left, unsure of what to say or think. Finally, Mystia's talons began to shake.

"Why are you shutting us out?" She whispered to no one in particular. "We're friends, right? I want to help..."

* * *

><p>The next day, Wriggle was still thinking. Or maybe that was an excuse to mope. The bug youkai was longing to visit the garden of sunflower's again, but she refused to go back. Yet.<p>

_Love sucks._ Wriggle decided, laying on the branch of a tall oak tree._ Why can't you decide who you love? Then I wouldn't have to keep thinking about her..._

It all felt unfair to Wriggle. She had come to the decision that she must love Yuuka. It helped explain those constant visits, the feelings that conflicted with her hate and fear.

But how was Wriggle supposed to cope with this? She didn't want to associate with anyone who beat her senseless, regardless of whether or not she 'liked' it.

Maybe it was time to consult with someone who should be familiar with this kind of behaviour. Wriggle felt sure that time there would be no interruptions. She would try and clear her head up now.

Lazily sliding off the branch, Wriggle took flight before she touched the ground, heading for that village again. Within ten minutes, she finally found it. It was still early morning, and there wasn't many people around.

Elly was still hanging from that tree. Despite the cold morning, she still seemed okay, and Wriggle wondered if it was because she'd gained a crap-load of endurance from living with Yuuka.

The gatekeeper was asleep, perfectly at ease and so utterly vulnerable it was a wonder Elly could sleep at all. then again, Yuuka was still protecting her...

Wriggle approached the sleeping gatekeeper, removing the gag. Elly stirred slightly but didn't wake. Wriggle poked her stomach, which caused her to grunt and blearily open an eye.

"Touchin's forbidden." Elly grumbled, and attempted to sleep again, but was met with another sharp prod.

"Ow! Hey, do that again and you won't like where Master Yuuka sticks tha-"

Elly stared in confusion at Wriggle, trying to remember where she'd seen her before. Then it clicked.

"Hey, you're that Wriggity guy-er, girl, right?" She asked.

"Wriggle." The insect youkai stated, sounding rather monotonous.

"Huh. So, what brings you to my tree? You trying to drag My Master here again?"

Wriggle shook her head, staring at the ground. "I just want to know something."

Elly tilted her head slightly, perhaps to show she was listening.

"You... live with Yuuka, right?" Wriggle asked.

"Duh."

"How?"

Elly looked confused. "Uh... I stay in her mansion?"

"Not that!" Wriggle stated, looking troubled. "How can you stand her? She's an abusive, evil freak! Look at what's she's doing to you right now!"

Elly gave her predicament a contemplative look, as if only just realising that she was, in fact, hanging naked from a tree in full view of anyone who cared to look.

"Well, yeah, Master Yuuka's big on punishments," Elly said thoughtfully. "But that's just one side to her. Why d'you wanna know anyway?"

Wriggle didn't want to answer, but she found herself saying, "She's been treating me like crap since you got here."

"Hmm..." Elly looked thoughtful once again. "Wanna tell me all about it?"

"Not really... then again, I might as well," Wriggle sighed, sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around her legs. "You're probably the only person who understands all this anyway."

Wriggle hesitantly told the gatekeeper about the times she snuck into the garden of sunflowers for unknown reasons, finally breaking in when the two had left. After that, Yuuka had found her, and since then, periodically beat her up while confusing her with things like love and a desire for pain inflicted by Yuuka. Elly just nodded every so often.

When Wriggle had finished, Elly said, "Well, sounds to me like my Master really likes you."

Wriggle gave her a questioning look. "I know Master Yuuka doesn't express herself like others, and even I don't know the reasons behind it-"

"Obviously, someone treated her like shit when she was young." Wriggle grunted.

"...Anyway, from the sounds of things, you rather like the attention, so what's the problem?" Elly asked with the best shrug she could manage with her hands bound.

"I don't want to!" Wriggle nearly yelled. "Do you have any idea how messed I feel, knowing that I want a monster to beat me up everyday?"

Elly contemplated the youkai sitting before her. It was obvious she felt horribly conflicted, which was understandable. After all, she didn't fully understand her own feelings. Elly sighed, figuring that Yuuka was having a bit too much fun messing with her.

"Ya know, you could always tell Master Yuuka to leave you alone for a bit." Elly said. "Make it clear you don't want her around, and she'll give you space. She isn't completely inconsiderate."

"No, just a creepy stalker with far too much interest in those younger than her." Wriggle said bitterly.

"Hey! Liking children doesn't make anyone weird!" Elly argued back.

"Try saying that when she takes messed up photographs." Wriggle muttered, then said to Elly, "You know what? This isn't helping me much at all. Sorry I wasted your time."

Getting to her feet, Wriggle slipped the gag back on Elly, who watched with a small smirk. _Figures she wouldn't help me at all. As if Yuuka would ever leave me for more than two minutes..._

"Shumwun eeds hoo hroagh uph." Elly's muffled voice said teasingly. "Heshieds, hoor usht honfoosht."

"...Yeah, okay." Wriggle said, not understanding a word. She walked away from the nude girl, who was now wondering if it was worth getting any more sleep.

_Jeez, why can't I love someone else?_ Wriggle wondered irritably. _Mysty would make sense, at least she isn't a sadist. Hell, I'd even put up with Cirno..._

* * *

><p>Mystia knew it was a stupid idea, but she couldn't call herself a friend if she didn't try and help Wriggle out somehow. Even if it was dangerous, Mystia wasn't about to leave a friend in despair.<p>

So, as she flew over the millions of sunflowers that made up Yuuka's garden, the night sparrow calmed her nerves in preparation for confronting Yuuka. No doubt it would end badly for her, but she had to try.

The mansion came into view, and there was the youkai in question, sitting at some table on her spacious patio, drinking tea and singing to herself. She didn't seem aware of Mystia's presence, but she knew better than to believe that. Hell, Yuuka had probably sensed her the very second she arrived in her domain. As Mystia neared, she caught some of the lyrics:

_"Yes, forget even to breathe, Ah, bewitched by its beauty._

_Now, I offer the entirety of my soul, So, let us tie this transient vow._

_Passion shepherds us to that distant radiance, while we blindly wander this twisted fate._

_Vividly do our exclamations of love resonate, vanquishing the flames of karma..."_

If Mystia wasn't too busy fantasising about smashing Yuuka's face in for her actions, she would have to admit Yuuka at least had a decent singing voice.

Mystia glared coldly at Yuuka as she reached the patio, ready to attack should the need arise. Yuuka only sipped more tea as she glanced at Mystia, a small smile on her face as she ceased her song.

"Hello there," Yuuka said pleasantly. "You're one of Wriggle's cute little friends, right?"

"Leave her alone." Mystia stated bluntly. She didn't want to exchange pleasantries, or any words that didn't relate to Wriggle's situation.

"I am," Yuuka said innocently. "She wants space, I'm giving her space."

Mystia narrowed her sharp eyes at the woman before her. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you see me as a horrible monster who takes naughty children from their beds in the middle of the night," Yuuka shrugged. "Tea?"

"What did you do to her?"

Yuuka smiled a little wider. "Oh, I don't think little Wriggy'd like me to say... It's a personal thing."

Mystia's blood began to boil at those words. "What did you do?"

Yuuka rolled her eyes and sighed. "My my, kids these days... cuter than ever before, but their manners! Well, let's just say I've been showing Wriggle her true nature."

"You're messing with her head."

"Just a little! Besides, it's for her own good." Yuuka replied. "Denial is a bad thing, you know!"

"As is lying." Mystia snarled, raising her sharp talons. They failed to intimidate Yuuka.

"Now now, young lady. Lying isn't my strong point," Yuuka replied calmly, and finished her tea. "However, I must say I absolutely adore those who worry for their friends. Is there anyone better than that?"

_Is she trying to flatter me or something?_ Mystia wondered. Well, she refused to be swayed by those words. "I'm warning you, leave Wriggle alone, or I'll..."

Yuuka only chuckled at the threat. "While I admire your spirit, it's unnecessary. Wriggle will come to me when she feels it is time. Until then..."

Yuuka got her feet and approached Mystia, who was feeling the first twinges of fear, although she stood her ground, glaring at Yuuka.

Leaning close to the sparrow's face, Yuuka said, "Maybe you should try talking to her now?"

Before Mystia realised it, Yuuka had thrown her away. It was so sudden, Mystia had found herself back in the forest of magic before she noticed the throw.

Stopping herself before she hit a tree, Mystia's body began to shake, releasing the pent up fear she had felt in approaching Yuuka like that.

_That woman... she makes no damn sense!_ Mystia thought as she leaned against a tree for support. _But... what did she mean by Wriggle's 'true nature'?_

"Mysty?" A surprised voice spoke from above, and Mystia flinched, staring above her to see Wriggle sitting on a rather thick branch.

_...And she knew exactly where Wriggle was..._ Mystia thought in shock. There had to be some stalker activity going on here...

"Wriggle! Ready to talk yet?" Mystia called up.

"... I might as well." Wriggle sighed in resignation, and Mystia ascended to the branch, noting how depressed Wriggle looked.

"... Well, I just met with Yuuka." Mystia said, and Wriggle simply grunted, as if it weren't that big a deal. "She said something about you being in denial. What's that about?"

Wriggle didn't answer immediately. She picked at the hem of her cape, looking scared at the prospect of answering. Finally, she said, "I love her."

Mystia simply blinked at this statement, taking quite a while to comprehend it. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Taking a deep breathe, Wriggle repeated, "I love her, okay? I want to be with her, hold her, and all that crap."

Mystia nearly fell to the ground with surprise._ How? How could Wriggle love someone like that?_

"And I don't know why, either," Wriggle grumbled, as if she read Mystia's mind. "I don't understand, and I wish I didn't love her, but I do!"

"I..." Mystia had no idea what to say about this. Was this what was troubling Wriggle? Not whatever the hell Yuuka had done to her? Or was Yuuka somehow manipulating her feelings?

"And that's not it, either," Wriggle continued, looking close to tears now. "Every time Yuuka attacks me, I... I..."

Wriggle looked at Mystia as tears began to fall. "I enjoy it, Mysty! Every time she hits me, I just want more!"

Wriggle buried her face in her hands and began to sob, while Mystia just felt awkward. It was like Wriggle had confessed to very personal activities that no one else needed to know about, and she wasn't quite sure how to react to the situation.

Regardless, Mystia carefully landed on the thick branch, kneeling in front of the sobbing youkai.

"Calm down, Wriggle," Mystia said gently. "I... can't say that I fully understand, but you say you like it when Yuuka hits you?"

Wriggle sniffled and nodded.

"Hm... I think I've heard of some people like that before..." Mystia said thoughtfully. "Although, I'm quite sure its sex-related."

Wriggle spluttered and stared at Mystia disbelievingly, her face growing red.

"B-b-b-b-but we ha-ha-haven't done that!" Wriggle cried.

"Still, I never imagined that was your thing," Mystia said with a teasing grin. "You're quite the pervert, Wriggle!"

"I'm not!"

"Don't attack me, Wriggle! I might just hit back!" Mystia laughed as she leaped from the branch, away from Wriggle's flailing arms. With a growl, Wriggle flew after her laughing friend, chasing her through the forest.

"Pervert, pervert, Wriggly-gal's a pervert~" Mystia sang loudly.

"Shut up! I'm not!" Wriggle yelled back.

Finally, Mystia came to a stop in a clearing, turning to face Wriggle with a wide grin. Wriggle charged at her, ready to tackle her friend to the ground for her accusations.

As they collided, Mystia wrapped her arms tightly around Wriggle, forcing them both to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of Mystia, but was otherwise unharmed. They'd endured far worse playing around.

Wriggle was breathing heavily, staring at Mystia with confused eyes. Still watching her, Mystia smiled at Wriggle. "You're such a child, you know that? I don't care if getting hurt is your thing."

Wriggle only looked horribly embarrassed, and Mystia hugged her tightly.

"The only part I'm worried about is Yuuka," She continued, a small frown now on her face. "...You're absolutely sure that you love her?"

"I have to be..." Wriggle replied. "Why else would she never leave my thoughts?"

Mystia looked troubled for a second, but her expression was replaced with a grimace. "Wriggle, as nice as it is to have you on top of me-"

"What?"

"-It's a tad hard to breathe." Mystia finished, and Wriggle hurriedly disentangled herself from the sparrow youkai, still looking flushed.

Mystia raised herself to a seated position, giving her wings an experimental flap before continuing. "So, what's Yuuka like around you?"

"Huh?" Wriggle looked confused for a moment. "Uh... Well, she acts all nice and cheerful, but it's kinda creepy most of the time. But sometimes, I'm sure there's genuine kindness. Oh, and I usually take a pounding at the end of our meetings."

"...Right." Mystia muttered. "Well, are you gonna keep seeing her?"

"Eh? No!" Wriggle lied, and Mystia rolled her eyes.

"Sure, Wriggle, you don't want to see the love of your life. That's about as believable as Cirno lasting three seconds against Yuuka."

"Okay, fine, I wanna see her!" Wriggle admitted grudgingly. She folded her arms and stared of to the side. "But not because I want to get my ass kicked! It still hurts, no matter what she says!"

Mystia smiled warmly at Wriggle, getting to her feet. "Well then, I suppose all that's left to do is to try and sort out Yuuka's behaviour."

When Wriggle gave her a confused look, Mystia said, "You know, stop having her beat you up at random points in the day?"

"Good luck convincing her..." Wriggle muttered. "Hey, you said you talked to her earlier, so how come you're still here?"

"Eh?"

"Remember? Yuuka loves destroying anything that walks into her garden! How did you get away with it?" Wriggle demanded an answer.

"Who cares? Right now, I just want to sort this whole thing out!" Mystia replied impatiently. "The sooner she leaves you alone, the sooner you stop moping and lamenting your perverted desires-"

"You're the cruellest best friend I've ever had, you know that?" Wriggle grumbled.

* * *

><p>"This was pretty stupid, Cirno." Rumia whispered fearfully to their gang leader, who was busy guiding them through the large field of flowers.<p>

"I agree with Rumia," Daiyousei added, looking like she was expecting the sunflowers to gang up and beat them all senseless at any second. "We don't even know if she captured Mysty and Wriggle, so why don't we j-"

"My senses never lie!" Cirno interrupted. "If I think something's happened, it's happened. We'll save 'em both as long as we stick top the plan."

Earlier that day, Mystia had disappeared, and after learning what was plaguing Wriggle for the last few days, feared that the flower youkai had gotten her clutches on Mystia as well. And who was to say that none of them would be next?

"What, you two fight and I infiltrate the mansion and rescue the two of them in three seconds?" Rumia snorted. "I foresee no flaws with that _at all_."

"Exactly!"

The group silently made their way closer to the mansion, hoping they hadn't been noticed yet. If they could get the drop on Yuuka, they may be able to extend the battle another five seconds!

Beyond the towering flowers, the mansion came into view. Yuuka was nowhere to be seen.

"You think she's inside?" Daiyousei whispered.

"Possibly, what do you think?" Cirno asked Rumia.

The youkai of darkness shrugged. "Most likely. So this plan's a bust, huh?"

"I dunno, she might be away somewhere..." Yuuka muttered thoughtfully, peering at the mansion with her hands cupped around her eyes like binoculars.

"Good point! All right, then!" Cirno declared loudly. "Onward we - wait... who just spoke?"

Cirno slowly turned to stare at Rumia, who slowly turned to face Daiyousei, who slowly turned to face Yuuka, who cheerfully waved at the group.

Cirno's mouth produced no sound as it moved for several seconds. Finally, she was able to utter, "A-abuh-abuh-buh-ba-ABANDON MISSION!"

With screams of pure terror, the three scattered, dashing and/or flying in separate directions. Yuuka chuckled at the display.

"Oh, you kids are such fun!" The flower youkai giggled. "No wonder my little princess likes you all!"

Leaving the gang to run around like headless chickens and regroup, Yuuka walked back to her patio, taking a seat at her usual table.

It didn't take long for two others to arrive, whom Yuuka had been expecting. She could see the firefly and night sparrow approaching quickly, a small smile on her lips.

The two came to a stop when they reached the patio. Wriggle looked nervous, while Mystia was clearly trying to hold back her fear and distrust.

"Your friends are playing hide and seek out there," Yuuka informed them pleasantly, pouring herself some more tea. "You might want to make sure they don't get lost."

Mystia glared suspiciously at Yuuka. Seeing this, Wriggle whispered, "It's fine, go find them."

Reluctantly, Mystia flew back into the garden, calling out her friend's names. Wriggle glanced at Yuuka, then directed her gaze to the ground.

"Something to say, Wriggle?" Yuuka asked with a small smile.

Wriggle muttered something, almost incoherent, and Yuuka cupped a hand around her ear, leaning closer. "Eh?"

"...I love you." Wriggle muttered, a little louder this time.

"Didn't quite catch that, Wriggle-bug."

Inhaling sharply, Wriggle shouted, "I love you!"

Feeling her face grow hot, Wriggle kept her gaze downcast while Yuuka sipped her tea, a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" She asked teasingly. "And there was something else, wasn't there?"

Wriggle nodded, her fingers twiddling behind her back. "I... I want you to leave me alone."

"Fine."

Wriggle was surprised at the answer. Blinking stupidly, she gaped at Yuuka. "... you mean, you're really gonna leave me alone?"

"Sure, you've seen your true self already, haven't you?" Yuuka shrugged. "You're a sado-masochist!"

Wriggle looked confused, but she didn't like the sound of that, and vehemently denied that. With a giggle, Yuuka said, "Oh, I'm just kidding, you're not that extreme... yet."

"I never will be!"

Yuuka only chuckled some more. "Say that in about a hundred years, when you're old enough to actually hook up with me. I'll be waiting patiently~"

Wriggle looked disturbed at the prospect, although the idea of Yuuka hooking up with her in a hundred years was oddly exciting.

"Ah, there's just one last thing..." Yuuka reached under the table, and pulled out what looked like several sheets of paper wrapped up in a floral wrapping.

"A little gift, for you and that lovely gang of yours!" Yuuka said.

"Eh?" Wriggle was surprised as Yuuka pushed them into her hands. "W-what are they?"

"You'll find out when you open them!" Yuuka said brightly. "Just hand out one each to your friends, and enjoy the gift!"

Normally, Wriggle would be suspect of Yuuka, of all people, giving them any kind of gift, but seeing as it seemed to be nothing more than a square sheet of paper, what harm could it do? It was probably a silly message anyway.

Wriggle stood awkwardly on the patio, unsure of anything else to say. Should she just bid goodbye? That would make it feel like parting with a friend, and Wriggle was still unsure if she wanted Yuuka to be one, love or no.

"Yuuka..." Wriggle started nervously. "You... d-d'you... uh... how much do..."

Yuuka smiled in amusement as Wriggle tried to force her question out of her mouth. Kneeling in front of Wriggle, Yuuka cupped her face in her hand.

"I find you absolutely adorable," Yuuka answered gently. "I just want to keep you and dress you up and play with you all day! But as for 'love'? Hmm..."

Wriggle stared nervously at Yuuka, unsure what answer she would prefer. One the one hand, if her love was reciprocated, it would be pretty damn creepy, but if not...

"Wriggle! Found 'em!" Mystia's voice called from the garden. Turning her head, Wriggle saw Mystia waving at her, with the rest of their gang huddled behind her.

"Time to leave, I suppose," Yuuka said, taking her seat once again as she finished her cup of tea. "I have another visitor arriving in a few moments, and she won't be in a good mood, I'm afraid."

"R-right.." Wriggle muttered. Without another word, Wriggle took to the sky, meeting up with her friends, explained that she felt a lot better, had some gifts to share, and they were off.

_Ah, the joy of youth..._ Yuuka thought blissfully.

Roughly ten minutes after Wriggle and her friends left, a very angry human was flying towards Yuuka, with a girl wrapped in a grey blanket carried over her shoulder. The angry human wore a white robe with long, red skirt, and her black hair had two ponytails hanging just in front of her ears.

"Yuuka Kazami!" The shrine maiden shouted, reaching the patio. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"Hm?" Yuuka looked surprised. "Nothing, Reimu. Is there a problem?"

Reimu Hakurei set the blonde girl on the patio and pointed at her. "Problem? You hung this person from a tree. Naked! What the hell?"

"Ish cawwed 'huneeshminb', heeneeos." Elly's muffled voice protested crossly, the gag still her mouth for some reason.

"That's correct, Elly was receiving punishment," Yuuka nodded. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Reimu threw her hands to the air. "No, of course not! It's not like there's such a thing as public decency, perverts or common frickin' sense!"

The argument continued long into the night. Yuuka cheerfully explaining her actions as right, Reimu impatiently pointing out every single thing wrong about Yuuka, and Elly sitting impatiently between the two, wondering if anyone even remembered that she was there at all.

* * *

><p>"Uh, Wriggle, are you sure these are safe?" Daiyousei squeaked as she stared at the gift in her hands.<p>

"I trust that these aren't going to kill us, at least," Wriggle replied. "Let's just open them, already. If we don't, Yuuka might come after us."

"Then let's open them!" Rumia said nervously.

Mystia glanced at Wriggle, seeing that she looked a lot calmer, more like her old self. Somehow, things had worked out. Wriggle no longer stared into space, thinking about that woman. Mystia wondered if Yuuka was truly as bad as they thought. After all, she had got them these presents...

"All right, let's open them together!" Cirno declared, her hands shaking as she got ready to tear the wrapping. "One... two... three!"

Everyone peeled the wrapping of their presents. Everyone's eyes bulged out of their sockets when they saw what the packages contained.

"Wriggle... I... I can see through that nightgown." Daiyousei muttered, staring at the picture in her hands.

"What's with the sailor outfit! It actually looks kinda cute." Rumia stated in shock.

"Hey look, shrine maiden Wriggle!" Cirno laughed, waving her own picture of Wriggle.

Mystia stared wordlessly at the picture of Wriggle, in which she was dressed in nothing but ribbons, which thankfully covered her anatomy. She glanced up at Wriggle, noting that her left eye was twitching as she stared at the message in her hands.

_"I simply couldn't resist resist sharing! Enjoy~_

_-Y. Kazami 3"_

"Uh... Wriggle?" Mystia said nervously. With a forced calm, Wriggle crumbled the note in her hand, eyes narrowed.

"Be right back, I'm gonna go borrow a spellcard from Marisa." Wriggle stated, and lumbered off in the direction of Marisa's house. Immediately, Mystia tackled her to the ground.

"Oh hell no! Calm down, Wriggle! We can get rid of them and completely forget what we saw!" Mystia said.

"I'm afraid that's gonna be very hard..." Rumia muttered, with nods of agreement from Cirno and Daiyousei.

Meanwhile, in the midst of Reimu's hollering, Yuuka grinned widely, having a distinct feeling her gifts were very well received.

* * *

><p><strong>So, that's this fic finished already. Apologies if it seems short, but this is actually much longer than I originally planned. Then I realised how utterly stupid it was to try and fit this all in one chapter...<strong>

**Anyways, this particular chapter seems... pretty rushed, honestly. I didn't feel confident about stretching this into two chapters, so I tried to make everyone's actions at least partially believable. Romance is probably one of the weakest points (Out of so, so many...) especially when romance involves what is essentially BDSM with danmaku.**

**Well, I hope that the ending is at least adequate. I'll probably start working on a Tsukuribanashi sequel after I try a Dissidia fanfic, so... look out for them, If you like.**

**Also, I couldn't resist throwing in a verse from 'Fragrance of Oriental Sunflower'. If you haven't heard it, check it out, it's awesome.**


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